


Aiko

by NovaCasonova



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, and thats exactly what this work is, i was like hey. you know what i need? a self-insert oc to work out my Issues(tm), if you also have daddy issues and also like zuko, than maybe this fic is for you, this is purely self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24620434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaCasonova/pseuds/NovaCasonova
Summary: “Finally.” Zuko whips around, pointing at the sky, a great pillar of light in the distance. “Aiko! Uncle! Do you realize what this means?”“That I won’t get to finish my game?” Uncle asks, sipping tea. Jasmine, Aiko thinks.“It means our search, it’s about to come to an end.”Or, Ozai has three children instead of two. And really, who even keeps track of the middle child? Self-Insert OC
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Zuko (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 75





	1. The Boy in the Iceberg

**Author's Note:**

> Like the tags said, Aiko is a shameless self-insert. You've been warned.

Aiko watches Zuko look over the edge of the ship as he scans the sky. They are so close the South Pole the sun barely sets. She sits on the ship’s metal deck, reading a fantasy scroll where bending doesn’t exist, there’s a civil war, and one girl has to save her family from a pack of brutes who won’t leave them alone. It’s a good story, if unrealistic. She’s read it a hundred times. Luckily, her world is united by the Fire Nation. Nearly united.

She has to maneuver around the scroll with only her left hand, as her right is… damaged, to say the least. Around her wrist, skin is stretched and bloated, with the glistening scar reaching up to her thumb and fingers. Small chunks of fat and skin and muscle are missing. It isn’t pretty. She can barely twitch her fingers. There seems to be a permanent set of bags under her eyes. Her hair is long and black, pulled into a messy top-knot. She refuses to let the crewmen do her hair, leaving much to be desired in the cosmetics department.

She listens as her uncle’s heavy footsteps grow near. He stops beside her and sits down, smiling. “Would you like to play a game of Pai Sho with me?” he asks, laying the pieces across the table.

“I’m reading,” Aiko coldly states, pulling her scroll closer to her chest. It is the only scroll on the ship not dedicated to counting supplies and sending messages. 

“Ah, sharpening your mind, I see.” Uncle turns to Zuko. “How about you, nephew? Would you care to indulge an old man?”

“No thanks, Uncle,” Zuko callously replies.  _ He must be in a bad mood today _ . _ Then again, when is he not? _ The three were silent for a while, each in their own heads. The cold bites at Aiko’s cheeks and she regrets insisting on wearing Fire Nation clothes today. Not that she would ever admit to it – she has too much pride for that. Spirits damn this barren place. She hopes that Zuko would soon realize that drifting through icebergs was useless, and they should look for the Avatar in some place warm, with nice inns.

Suddenly, Aiko is pulled out of her thoughts by the grim words of her brother. “ _ Finally _ .” He whips around, pointing at the sky, a great pillar of light in the distance. “Aiko! Uncle! Do you realize what this means?”

“That I won’t get to finish my game?” Uncle asks, sipping tea. Jasmine, Aiko thinks.

“It means our search, it’s about to come to an end.”

Aiko’s brows knot with confusion. “What happened?”

His voice rises, more passionate than she’s seen in months. “Look! Don’t you see that light came from an incredibly powerful source, only the Avatar could be at the center of it!”

Aiko’s wild eyes follow Zuko’s finger to the brilliant pillar of light in the sky, just as it fizzles away. She rushes to stand, heart racing and mouth agape.

“Or, it’s just the celestial lights,” Uncle Iroh calmly says, gesturing at the sky with his cup. “Both of you have been down this road before. I don’t want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Join me for a cup of calming Jasmine tea.”

Aiko’s face flushes.  _ Stupid. Uncle’s right, and now I look like a fool. Better to just sit down and listen to him. Only an idiot would show such excitement over nothing. We’ve been looking for three years, and we’re going to be looking for the rest of my life, or until I finally have enough of Zuko and jump off the edge of this ship and live the rest of my life as a hermit. Only an idiot would be so blind as to how impossible this is. _

__

She shoves down the urge to angrily stomp off as she listens to her brother order the crew to go towards the light.  _ Only an idiot would. _

Uncle reluctantly puts down a tile and stands; his eyebrows giving the back of Zuko’s head a fearsome look. The wind picks up and she looks up at the southern lights that now hang over the sky, allowing herself to feel the littlest bit of hope.

~

Aiko has been sitting on the deck of the ship for hours now. She’d long since finished the scroll, and is now practicing her calligraphy. Her right hand was made practically immobile, so she has to learn to write all over again. She used to be a good painter, and her mom would let Aiko practice doing her portrait. Now, her handwriting looks like chicken-pig scratch, and she can’t draw to save her life.

The sun is as low as it’ll get down here, and her eyelids are heavy. She faintly hears Uncle and Zuko talking on the top of the ship.  _ Knowing Uncle, he’s probably trying to convince Zuko to go to sleep – and knowing Zuko, that will never happen. _

__

She looks up at the sky, nearly dark save for the blue energy that flows and twists in the horizon. It’s only gotten colder, but Aiko wouldn’t be caught dead wearing warmer clothes. Any firebender worth their salt should be able to stand a little frost, and to wear a coat would be an admission of defeat to Uncle, who had insisted she wear one that morning.

She glances up towards the top deck, where she sees both Zuko and Uncle have gone inside. Finally, she is alone.

The girl puts down her ink pen and stands, walking to the center of the deck. She centers herself and breathes deeply, as Uncle showed her. Putting her right hand behind her back, she falls into a firebending stance. Aiko begins to move swiftly, gathering momentum with her left hand and shifting on her feet to shove flame into existence. She makes a sweeping kick with one of her long legs, producing a roaring arc of fire, and struggles to balance onto the next foot. 

This level of firebending was reliant on sweeping kicks and fancy footwork, with an acute understanding of rhythm. Aiko was terrible at it. Firebenders were meant to stand their ground and  _ attack _ , not dance around their opponent like some flighty airbender. However, Aiko had discovered not long after recovering that she can’t bend with her right hand, because its chi is twisted and bent. The doctors said it had something to do with trauma, whatever that meant. She’d soon realized that bending with only one good hand made her an even worse firebender, and so she has to rely on her legs to pick up the slack. It was so  _ embarrassing _ . Thank the spirits Azula couldn’t see her now.

She continues for about an hour, her bending getting worse and worse. Her legs grew tired, her movements sloppy, and her footsteps heavy. Finally, she pauses, panting like an animal with sweat dripping off her forehead. She certainly isn’t cold now.

_ Only a small break. The sun won’t be down for long, and it wouldn’t be wise to run on so little sleep _ .

Aiko kneels and tucks her hair behind her ears. It was always getting in the way. She tries to gather herself, but it's difficult to focus with the ringing failure of her bending and writing, not to mention Zuko’s…  _ enthusiasm _ for the southern lights.

From the quiet of night come footsteps. “You know, if you wanted more practice you could have just told me.”

Uncle’s voice jolts her, and she quickly stands, berating herself for being caught in such a weak position.

“Didn’t want to bother you,” she says, trying not to betray her surprise.

Uncle comes closer, examining her earlier calligraphy practice. “You are getting so much better,” he yawns. “Go to sleep, and you may find yourself even better in the morning.”

Aiko reaches her paper in a few quick strides and grabs it from his hands. “Don’t mock me Uncle, I know it’s terrible. You’re getting better’ is code for ‘it still looks like trash.’ If you’re going to criticize me, at least be honest about it.” She crumples the paper, sets it ablaze, and hurls it over the side of the ship, trying not to feel like a whiny child.

Uncle keeps his voice level. “I wasn’t talking about the writing, but your bending. Although I only caught the tail end of your practice session, I see you have been trying the more complex forms. Just know, Princess Aiko, that firebending is not about muscle but –”

“Breath, yes, I know,” Aiko interrupts, crossing her arms. “You’ve told me that a million times, and I try to listen, but, how can I breathe when I’m moving so quickly; It’s a waste of time to practice something so useless.”

Uncle narrows his eyes. “I am not suggesting you stop everything to do a breathing exercise, simply that you will never become the firebender you want to be if your rhythm and movements are so erratic. First, you must master your inner fire.”

“How?”

“By doing the basics. How else?”

Aiko scowls. “I’ve  _ been _ doing the basics. I’m sorry if I sound like a spoiled brat, but I’m ready. I know how to firebend, I certainly know how to breathe, and I need to move on if I can ever become… become good.”

“You  _ do _ sound like a spoiled brat. Listen to your Uncle Iroh and go to bed. To master firebending takes decades, so you have to start out  _ right _ . Otherwise, bad habits form which will stick with you forever. Such as not sleeping!” Uncle takes Aiko’s arm and leads her inside, cheery as Aiko sulks. “Now, have I ever told you the story of the turtle-duck and the fox-hare?”

~

Aiko is ripped from her sleep from a violent banging on her door. “Aiko! We’ve found the Avatar, get  _ out _ here!”

Aiko rips off her blanket and rushes to open the door, only to see Zuko standing wide-eyed and frantic, grinning from ear to ear. It’s been so long since he smiled like that.

“Get up and dressed  _ now _ , a flare went up on a downed Fire Nation ship and I saw the Avatar – he really is an airbender, hiding in some  _ village _ ,” Zuko practically yells. His hands are pressed against her door frame, his entire body coiled, poised on the balls of his feet. His yellow eyes are alight with something that is almost passion, but the twist of his brow suggests hate. “We’re finally going to capture him and regain our honor. The war will end, and everything will be as it should be.”

A while later, Aiko meets her twin on the top deck of their metal ship just as the sun reaches the middle of the sky. Both are dressed in Fire Nation armor standing before the white landscape. “Where is he now?” Aiko asks, pressing a tired eye to their telescope.

“Do you see that cluster of igloos and huts?” Zuko points to a village made of snow and ice surrounded by a small wall. “That’s the Southern Water Tribe village, and it’s where the Avatar is hiding. Of course, the coward would come here, to the bottom of the world. Well, we found the old man anyway, and now…”

“You two will think of a thorough plan to capture one of the most legendary people in the world,” Uncle interrupts, making both flinch.  _ God, did Uncle  _ use _ to sneak up on us so much? Or did we just stop paying attention. _

__

“We’ll adapt to whatever the Avatar throws at us,” Aiko says, composed. “We have a Fire Navy ship, a fleet of trained soldiers, and the two of us against – what – a small tribal village and a 112 year old man? Thank you for your concern, Uncle, but we don’t need it. This will be quick and easy.”

For the first time in three years, Aiko allows herself to believe what she’s saying. She just might get to go home and make things up to her father, might just get off this stupid ship and eat something other than fish, and might just be able to relax.

She hears Uncle sigh, deeply.  _ Sorry, Uncle, but wisdom can wait. _

Their ship steams ahead, pushing through icebergs and freezing water. The village gets closer and closer, and Aiko sees just how unimpressive it was. No defenses, other than a snow wall; only a few visible buildings, and even then they hardly qualified; and it was altogether so small that, had she not used a telescope, the village would have escaped her vision. Is this all that’s left of the Southern Water Tribe?

Eventually, they get close to the shore. It is misty over here, as if the spirits didn’t want to watch what was about to happen. Good. It will give them the element of surprise.

She goes down to the edge of the ship, dressed with a Fire Nation breastplate and helmet. Her brother comes beside her, armor more ornamental and complex then her own. She guesses it’s because he had asked servants to help him tie the strings and lace up his boots, and maybe even put on his helmet. Aiko didn’t want to bother them with such frivolous things, and it seemed to her like a sign of weakness, to have other men put your own clothes on for you.

“You’re not dressed properly,” Zuko scolds.

“I’m dressed how I want to be dressed. I need to be able to move freely to fight the most effectively,” she replies.  _ It isn’t technically a lie. I need all of the advantages I can get if what Uncle says is true and I still need to master the basics.  _ “Also, your shoulder-pads look dumb.”

As they get closer to the village, the fog becomes thicker, and, leaning over the edge of the ship, Aiko notices that their hull is cracking the ice, vibrating the water.  _ So much for the element of surprise _ .

The ship continues on, failing to slow down as it approaches the edge of the ice the tribe lived on. A look of understanding dawns on Aiko’s face as her ship divides the iceberg before finally coming to a horrendous, screeching halt, having just breached their feeble wall of snow. She turns to face Zuko, only to realize that, in becoming absorbed with the movement of the ship, she has failed to notice he went below deck, presumably to meet the villagers and demand to know the location of the Avatar.

When she leans over the ship to watch the procession, her suspicions are proven correct. She sees her brother, because who else had armor that fancy, standing on top of an iron bridge that came down from the ship. If she needs to give someone a good chase, she can always slide down the ship’s side and join her brother. For now, though, it seems unnecessary.

Zuko walks down to the village, flanked by two guards and is met by a teen that has painted his face and holds a machete of some kind. The boy charges towards Zuko, letting out a battle cry, but Aiko’s brother only kicks him aside. His head is buried in snow, his weapon a stone’s throw away. Beyond him, the crowd is made up of children and old women who now cower in fear.  _ Pathetic _ .

“Where are you hiding him?” Zuko asks, practically stalking the crowd, trying to squint behind their shoulders.

A few beats of silence pass.

Suddenly, Aiko sees Zuko rip an old woman out of the crowd. “He’d be about this age, master of all elements?”

Nothing.

Zuko shoves the old woman back, where she is met by a young girl. Aiko doesn’t need the eyesight of a hawk to know that their eyes are filled with hate for the Fire Nation.

Her brother shifts into bending form before casting an arc of flame upon the villagers. They cringe back and cry out, and Aiko can ever hear the wails of a child over the fire’s roar. She frowns. Either they have the Avatar or they don’t, and it would be pointlessly cruel to torture innocent people for information they didn’t have.

“I know you’re hiding him!” Zuko yells, stepping forward, body coiled.

From behind the Fire Nation soldiers, she sees the boy with face paint who’d charged Zuko come up from behind him, grabbing his weapon from the snow. Again, he attacks with a battle cry, giving away what little advantage he has.  _ His form is weak, and he has no plan other than “attack the imperial firebender.” Idiot. _

Zuko ducks, using the boy’s momentum against him, sending him flying. The boy crashes into the snow with a grunt, but pushes off his feet to escape Zuko’s blast. The boy, whose face paint was now nearly taken off by the snow, rolls to the side, landing to throw a boomerang at Zuko, who dodges it with a grunt. The boomerang flies behind him, beyond Aiko’s field of vision.

The boy, still crouching on the ground, is tossed a spear by one of the children in the crowd. He stands; charging towards Zuko like one would a buffalo-elephant. Unlike buffalo-elephants, however, Zuko breaks the spear with his arm just as the boy gets close, grabbing it from him. He knocks the water-tribe boy in the head several times, and the boy falls to the ground, rubbing his head.

__

_ Oh, look. Here the boomerang comes. _

__

It knocks into Zuko’s helmet with a bang, making him stumble, and Aiko can’t help but let out a burst of laughter. She sees him twist around to glare up at her, before turning back to the water tribe. His fists ignite in flame and she can practically feel the waves of aggression coming off him.  _ Oh boy _ . Aiko resists the urge to look away.

Suddenly, from the icy waters, emerges a bald boy dressed in orange riding a penguin-seal, rocketing towards her brother. The stranger crashes into Zuko, flipping her brother onto his back and knocking his helmet off. He lands beside his guards, head planted in the snow. Aiko snickers. Her brother had just been struck aside by a water-tribe idiot with a boomerang and some boy on a penguin-seal – she is never going to let him forget this.

The boy in orange ( _ That’s strange, everyone else is dressed in blue _ ) stops in front of the crowd, met with cheers. As he pauses, Aiko squints, struggling to make out his details. His outfit was unusual, a fashion she’d never seen; he had some blue shape on his head; and a long wooden staff.  _ Could it be  _ –  _ no, he is much too young. _

__

The boy exchanges words with the villager, settling down with his legs crossed. Zuko rises, and Aiko is sure that there is murder in his eyes. She watches as he sends the guards to surround the boy, before settling into a firebending form, stance wide and deep.

The boy stands, wielding his staff like a weapon. Strangely, he doesn’t seem scared, which confounds her. Not that she would ever admit it, but if faced with her brother in an Agni Kai, Aiko is unsure she’d win.

The guards march closer to the boy, closing him in at all sides. The boy swings his staff and plums of snow fly into the air, leading Aiko to briefly freeze before jumping down the side of the ship. Her legs carry her down the metal hull, seemingly separate from her body. There isn’t time to think, only her instincts screaming that no such move could’ve been made by anyone other than an airbender.  _ It has to be the Avatar _ .

Aiko lands beside Zuko, watching him melt the snow off his shoulders from the corner of her eye. Both deepen into firebending stances, side by side. Aiko’s body is thrumming with excitement, an emotion almost foreign after three years chasing fairy tales.

“Looking for me?” the boy asks, standing tall.

_ This doesn’t make any sense; he’s supposed to be over a hundred. _

Zuko echoes her thoughts. “You’re the airbender? You’re the  _ Avatar _ ?”

“There’s no time for questions, Zuko. We have a fight to win,” Aiko says, steadying her breath.

The Avatar points his staff at them, determination written across his face. Murmurs sound behind him from the villagers as Aiko nods to Zuko.  _ You go left and I go right. _

He goes right.  _ Fine. Fine, I can improvise. _

__

“I’ve spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating, and it turns out you’re just a child!” Zuko says, locking eyes with the Avatar. His face was twisted with resentment for a boy he’d just met, and it took all of Aiko’s willpower to not look the same. She instead creeps behind the airbender, trying to analyze the way his attention shifts from his two attackers.

_ A good warrior is under control. I will not fall into the same traps as before, I won’t let my emotions get in the way. _

__

The Avatar comes out of his stance, tilting his head towards Zuko. “Well, you’re both just teenagers.”

_ Here’s my chance _ .  _ A momentary lapse in attention – perfect. _

Everything else falls away as Aiko swings her leg in a roundhouse kick, creating a mediocre arc of flame. The Avatar yelps, whipping around to spin his staff, diffusing the flame. He leaps back from his position in-between the twins, visibly struggling to keep up with their barrage of fire. He moves and evades, circling them, stopping before the villagers. One strong blast from Zuko makes it past the Avatar, brushing against the water tribe. Aiko sees the airbender pause, looking back at those behind him. He turns back, defeat evident in his eyes. Some part of her feels a vindictive rush of satisfaction at seeing him so weak.

“If I go with you two, will you promise to leave these people alone?” He asks, now with an edge to his voice.

__

There is a moment’s pause, as if the world was taking a breath.

Aiko watches Zuko out of the corner of her eye, waiting for his decision. He pulls out of his stance, nodding once, moving to step back.

“Wait!” Aiko holds out a hand to the Avatar, gaze not leaving him. “My brother and I should  _ discuss this _ ,” she hisses, marching over to Zuko to pull him close. “This could be a trap. For all we know, he will get aboard our ship and destroy it from the inside. You and I need to tread very,  _ very _ , carefully. No mistakes can be made,” she whispers to him.

Her brother wretches his arm out of her grasp. “You think I don’t know that? I can handle him.”

“You mean  _ we _ can handle him.”

“Whatever.”

“Uh, guys?” The Avatar. He seems hesitant to speak. Good. “Am I coming with or not?”

“I – sure. Yes,” Aiko says, trying her best to sound like a leader, motioning her soldiers to put him in cuffs. She turned on her heel to follow him, doing her best to ignore Zuko’s glare.

From behind, Aiko hears one of the water tribe girls cry out, “No Aang, don’t do this!”

“Don’t worry Katara. It’ll all be okay,” the Avatar, Aang, answers, smiling. “Take care of Appa for me before I get back!” Soon, his smile is lost in the shadow of Aiko’s ship.

She watches the villagers deflate, despair evident, and feels… something in the pit of her stomach. Dismissing it, she follows her brother into the bowels of her ship.

“Set a course for the Fire Nation,” he commands. “We’re going home.”


	2. The Avatar Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So… I guess you’ve never fought an airbender before,” the boy says, looking back at Aiko. “I bet I could take all three of you with both hands tied behind my back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters after this one will be much looser about following canon.

Aiko marches quickly in the narrow hallway, posture rigid, and her face twisted into a frown.  _ The Avatar told the water-tribe girl to take care of something before he got back. That means he  _ must _ have a plan to escape. Zuko may be confident in his victory, but I’m going to be smarter than that – smarter than him. A good warrior thinks ahead. _

Removing her from her thoughts was the sight of a familiar old man nursing a cup of tea, meandering along the hallway with a faint smile.

“Ah! Congratulations on your victory today. Would you like to join me in my room to celebrate?” He asks, smiling up at her.

Aiko tries to remove the stiff scowl from her face. “Not now, Uncle. I’ve been thinking about your warning about the Avatar, calling him one of the most legendary people in the world. Well, I think – no, I  _ know _ he plans to escape, and I’m going to be there to stop it.”  _ I’m not about to let a mere child keep me from returning home. _

He hums. “You seem to have considered this greatly, in the span of just a few minutes. Funny, how that works.” His lazy smile seems to have become tighter,  _ or maybe I’m just paranoid. _

“Yes, funny,” Aiko says, unable to pull away from her dour expression.

“Just be careful to not obsess over this, Princess Aiko. Fixation and obsession can consume even the most rational of firebenders.”

_ More advice. It seems a lesson more befitting of Zuko – at least  _ I’m  _ capable of keeping a level head, and not spouting whatever angry thought floats through my mind.  _ “Thank you Uncle. I’ll think about it,” she says diplomatically. “Right now I have to join Zuko on deck with the Avatar. Maybe you could escort me.”

“Why, gladly.” Uncle holds out the crook of his arm for Aiko to take and they start to walk slowly along the corridor, arm in arm.

“I think we’re in a bit of a rush, Uncle. Zuko wants us on the deck  _ now _ ,” Aiko says, ignoring the warmth she feels at the pit of her stomach. Uncle hums softly and makes no move to change his slow pace, still sipping his tea. She tugs him along the corridor and they eventually stop at a metal door. Aiko motions for her uncle to open it, realizing she hadn’t a hand to spare.

The two come out into the Southern sun to see Zuko and a few of his men surrounding the Avatar, yellow outfit standing out amongst the red and grey.

“This staff will make an excellent gift for my father,” Zuko says, examining the wooden thing. “I suppose you wouldn’t know of fathers, being raised by monks.” The Avatar stiffens.  _ Has he hit a nerve? Or maybe it’s the manhandling of his staff - yeah, that’s probably more likely. Who cares about their father? Not me, that’s for sure. Never, nope. Who even is that guy? Fire Lord who? _

Aiko and Uncle come up from behind Zuko, and she detaches herself from him, coming to the Avatar’s side. Up close, she notices little details about him, such as the blue arrow on his head that trailed down to his hands, or how his eyes were gray. She’d never seen anyone with gray eyes before.

“Aiko, take the Avatar to the prison hold. Uncle, take this to my quarters,” Zuko said coldly, handing the staff to Uncle.

“What is he, your servant?” Aiko calls out to her brother’s receding back. He faintly scoffs. Frowning, she turns to one of the nearby soldiers. “Hey, you, bring this to your prince’s room.”

“Thank you, Ping,” Uncle says, handing it off. “I think I’m going to relax now. Princess Aiko, if you need me-”

“I know Uncle.” She watches him stroll inside before turning back to the Avatar. “You, with me.”

The two soldiers have to practically drag him across the deck, the Avatar grunting in protest all the while. She motions them to walk ahead of her, not wanting to take her sights off the boy. They walk down a set of stairs into the ship’s interior, descending into yet another hallway. After a few moments of silence, the boy speaks up, his voice betraying his youth. “So… I guess you’ve never fought an airbender before,” he says, looking back at Aiko. “I bet I could take all three of you with both hands tied behind my back.”

She tenses. Is this how battles begin? “Try anything and I’ll make sure you spend the rest of the trip in the infirmary,” Aiko glowers.  _ Betray no emotion, no fear. He should see you as an imperial Fire Nation princess, and nothing less. _

Their group stops before one of the cells, with the first soldier pulling out a key. Just as he moves to put it in the lock, the Avatar takes a great gulp of air, giving Aiko only a split second to realize what he was about to do. 

All the breath is knocked out of her with a grunt as she goes flying back, landing in a heap on the stairs under the second soldier. She scrambles to escape from underneath the man, trying to leap up the stairs only to stumble, head pounding.

_ I must’ve hit my head on the fall. Breathe, Aiko. You can’t afford to lose this. _

Pushing past the aching in her skull, she stumbles up the staircase to see the airbender blast open a door with a kick. She races after him, counting on the fact that she has one good hand to use, as well as extensive knowledge of the ship. The airbender glances behind his shoulder, eyes widening when he realizes who chases him. The two wind and twist through the halls, pushing off walls at each turn, not risking a cease in momentum.  _ Lucky for me, his hands are tied, or I’d be left in the dust by now. Note to self – never chase after an airbender. Even now, the boy is light on his feet. _

Eventually the Avatar turns a corner and is halted by two guards wielding machetes. A shark’s grin creeps up Aiko’s face as she pants heavily, trying to both catch her breath and maintain dignity.

“You’re trapped! Give up, and we won’t knock your brains out,” one of the guards warns.  _ Listen to him, and my job will be immeasurably easier. Not that you care about that. _

The airbender just brightly smiles. “I’m just looking for my staff – you wouldn’t happen to know where it is?”

The soldiers slowly raise their weapons, confused.

“Well, what are you waiting for?  _ Attack him! _ ” Aiko commands, deepening into a firebending stance.

The Avatar jumps and airbends onto the low ceiling, circling over the many soldiers in front of him. Aiko pushes them aside to continue her chase, watching with growing dread as the boy weaves in-between legs and leaps over heads. Grunting, she sprints after him, letting the adrenaline fuel her chaotic dash.

They take sharp turns, rocket down hallways, and climb up stairs. Aiko loses track of it all, and the only thing in her vision is the flicker of yellow and orange ahead of her. At one corridor, the boy gives a brief pause in front of a fire bender’s blast, before leaping over it, only to come down to kick his head, knocking the man to the ground. With a jolt, Aiko realizes that he used the soldier’s helmet to undo his bindings.  _ Oh spirits _ . _ One of my two advantages is gone. Great. Just awesome. _

Aiko has to duck to avoid the remainder of the soldier's fire, before pushing off the wall to run after him, barely jumping over the downed soldier’s body.

_ He may be faster than me; he may be a better bender, whatever. But I have something he doesn’t –  _ determination.

With each stride, Aiko grows sloppier. Her footsteps are heavy and aching as the Avatar’s back gets further and further away from her, until she can barely keep up with his twists and turns.

_ A good warrior keeps going. I  _ have _ to keep going. _

__

She sees him glance over his shoulder, eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of her. His acknowledgement spurs her on, and it becomes slightly easier to ignore the burning sensation in her lungs.

“Don’t you ever stop?” He asks over his shoulder, taking a moment to open a door, peeking inside.

Aiko just glares at him, not daring to pause for even a moment.  _ He must be looking for something – that staff, maybe. That’s good, while he wastes time opening doors, looking for Zuko’s room, I can catch up with him. It seems all this boy can do is evade me. Airbenders. Insane, all of them. _

__

The Avatar opens many doors but takes only a glance inside each, before the growing sound of Aiko’s footsteps spurs him on again. With every second he wastes wrenching open one of the metal things, she gets closer, regaining what distance she lost.

Eventually, Aiko and the airbender get close to where she knows Uncle and Zuko’s rooms to be. She just prays to the spirits that the Avatar wouldn’t bother –  _ oh, there he goes, opening Uncle’s door _ . At this point, Aiko is an arm’s reach away from the boy, and he twists around to face her in front of the door, eyes wide as discs.

Both of them freeze at close proximity, with Aiko all too aware of the snoring that comes from inside the room.  _ Spirits, of all the times to catch up with him. Couldn’t I have done this in front of some broom closet?  _ “Wake him, and I’ll kill you,” she hisses, still trying to catch her breath.

“Sorry,” the airbender whispers, gently closing the door. He pivots on his heel and rockets down the hall once again. Cursing under her breath, Aiko belatedly follows.  _ It was between fighting in front of Uncle or doing the one thing that could bring Zuko and I home. Why did I do that? Also, what kind of enemy apologizes? The ten-year-old kind, I guess. _

__

Eventually, the Avatar wretches open Zuko’s door, stumbling into his room where the wooden stick is laid against the wall.

“My staff!” he exclaims, scrambling towards the thing. He looks back to find Aiko in the doorway, slamming the metal door shut, locking it. Its sound ricochets through the room, and she can’t help but stiffen.

“How have I not lost you yet?” the boy asks incredulously.  _ Good question. _

Aiko chooses to just scowl at the boy, trying not to betray how winded she is. She moves to the center of Zuko’s room and widens her legs, punching a burst of flame towards him. He dodges with ease and grace, landing lightly on his feet. She then does a side kick, yielding a much brighter fire, and the boy leaps away yet again. She tries to move quickly but soon finds that keeping up with the airbender is much harder than it seems, as each time one of her legs push out to blast the boy, he springs away, leading to a repetitive, exhausting, sequence of attacks.

Another ball of fire, another dodge, another ball of fire, another dodge, again and again, until both were left winded and sloppy. Sweat beads her forehead, and loose hairs dangle in her face.

_ Who can keep this up the longest? Whose lungs and muscles will give out first? _

__

Evidently, the Avatar, as he backs into a corner, heaving. The boy just barely jumps out of the way of Aiko’s burst of flame, clambering across the ground in the face of her relentlessness. He just manages to roll under her legs, leap over her head, and practically cling to her back, managing to twist out of her line of sight. Each time she tries to face him, he twists back behind her. She can smell him, the stench of cold air and sweat. She has to suppress a shudder knowing she smells the same way.

From the metal door, there’s a pounding. “Open up, Avatar! I know you’re in there!” Zuko calls out, voice muffled.

“I’m-“ Aiko starts, kicking a jet of flame, “-in the middle-” trying to pivot to face the Avatar _, “_ of something!”

Their backs were to each other, footwork akin to some violent, messy dance. She grows increasingly frustrated with the Avatar’s evasion, as the technique the boy uses is beyond anything she’s ever seen before. The blasts he doesn’t manage to dodge are diffused, and he spins behind her at just the right moment to escape her reach.

Her barrage of flame creates flickering golden lights reflected in the metallic walls, and his orange and yellow robes, flitting around the room, nearly creates an impression of a bird. It would’ve been breathtaking, had Aiko not been in the middle of a fight.

To get out of their loop of attacking and dodging, the Avatar uses the momentum from one jump to twist onto his leg, bouncing off Aiko, flipping into the air, and creating a ball of wind beneath him. With this, the boy glides on the walls, circling above, around, and under Aiko. Her punches and kicks become long arcs of flame as she tries, in vain, to hit the boy.

From the door, Aiko still has to contend with Zuko’s distractions. “Let me  _ in, _ ” he cries out, pounding on the door.  _ Just wait there and, if I lose, the boy will come out to you. You’re in a good tactical position, calm down!  _ Suddenly, the banging stops, and she hears footsteps recede, presumably to find another way in.  _ I have to do everything, don’t I? _

Spurred on, Aiko’s bending quickens.  _ Spirits, let’s just get this over with. _ She pauses her kicks for a moment, eyes following the Avatar as he glides across the room. Just when the boy’s back was turned, her left hand jabs the air, creating a push of flame that knocks the airbender onto his stomach. He lands in front of one of the many Fire Nation banners that “decorate” the room. The boy rips it from the wall with a grunt, spinning around to wrap the red cloth around Aiko, effectively disabling her. She furiously struggles against her bindings, ripping out of them with a decidedly undignified roar.

The boy shivers, eyes wide.  _ Good _ .

Aiko returns to her stance, teeth bared.  _ This time, he won’t get the upper hand. Remember to- _

__

“Oof!” Aiko is slammed into the wall by a blast of air and crumples on the ground. The pounding in her skull from the last time the boy threw her against a wall returns, doubled. The metal floor feels like a feather bed.

_ No, I have to keep go- _

__

The airbender knocks her onto the ceiling, and she falls down with a heavy thud. Faintly, as if through a fog, she hears his footsteps recede. She tries to muster the energy to feel angry with the boy, but instead finds shame at the pit of her stomach.  _ A child has beaten me with his hands tied behind his back. What kind of firebender  _ loses  _ to such a weak opponent _ ?

Some part of her tries to reason that this was the Avatar, not just some ordinary kid, and his hands weren’t tied for the  _ whole _ fight, but Aiko’s brain wasn’t having it. Shaking, she tries to push herself up with her right hand and is hit with a wave of dizziness.  _ Move past it. Push on; you think Dad became Firelord by stopping when he got dizzy? You think Sozin expanded the nation by giving up when he wanted to vomit? _

She makes her way out of the room, only to find the Avatar nowhere in sight. Scanning the hallway, she sees one of the hatches in the ceiling is hanging open and marches over. The low ceiling allows the open hatch to be easy to reach, so luckily, undignified flailing isn’t required. Grunting, Aiko hauled herself up into the dusty space between this floor and the next, trying not to cough up dust.  _ Why would he – oh. We’re right under the control center; it’s the top of the ship. _

__

It seems the Avatar had burst through the hatch, went through the ventilation space, and up towards the room above. Sorely lacking the grace or abilities of an airbender, Aiko is all too aware of how messy her hair is, how sticky her sweat is, and how filthy her hands are from grasping the space in between the ceiling as she ascends.

She finally manages to climb onto the control room’s floor, squinting at the sudden change in brightness. This is the very top of the ship, and the only level with a balcony.  _ There! _ A small yellow and orange form, darting over the equipment and racing for the open sky. She scrambles to her feet, leaping over the equipment, feet pounding on the metal floor, before bursting outside, only to see the Avatar lift off with his glider. She’s at the edge of the balcony. The ship’s deck is beneath her and beyond that, ice and snow. The horizon goes on forever up here.

_ You can’t seriously be considering – he’s only a few feet away! - It’s too dangerous, remember what Uncle – I don’t  _ care  _ what Uncle said, this is my only chance. _

__

Aiko backs up a few feet.  _ Now. _ All thoughts leave her head, until all that’s left are the sensations which envelop her: the icy wind, the absence of ground beneath her feet, her heart’s racing pulse, and the strain of her outstretched arm.

Her left hand is suddenly grasping an ankle, and she feels the boy falter in his flight, yelping. They start to spiral – the glider wasn’t meant for two people – and both can’t help but scream. They land in a jumbled heap on the deck, both bodies tired and bruised. Pushing herself with a grunt, Aiko stands to see Zuko standing tall, backed by his men. The Avatar is caught between them.

He warily picks up his staff, probably to fly off, and Aiko knows that, at this point, she would leap into freezing waters just to follow him. He pivots so that he can watch both Aiko and Zuko, having learned from his last battle with the two of them.

From the endless blue sky comes an animalistic groan, and their heads whip up to see a giant, furry, six-legged monster flying in the sky. Aiko’s eyes widen and her jaw goes slack as she bears witness to the impossible.

Zuko, on the other hand, didn’t seem so stunned. Sure, he utters an expression of disbelief, but quickly moves onto motioning his soldiers to circle the Avatar. His soldiers unsheathe their swords, and Aiko can guess that they’re scowling under their helmets.

The Avatar doesn’t seem to notice, calling out some name in the direction of the flying ball of fur.  _ It doesn’t even have wings. Even  _ dragons _ have wings! _

Zuko bends fire at the Avatar, who struggles to dissipate it with a twirl of his staff. The blast knocks him off his feet, and he has to use his staff as a sort of rotating propeller, like if birds had one wing and just moved it in a 360-degree circle really quickly. Weird.

The airbender floats a few feet off the ground, hovering right beside Aiko. She reaches up and yanks his ankle down; she’s thankful once again that she’s, at least, tall. He lands on the floor with a thump, and scrambles to get up. Aiko uses her left hand to pin down his right, and slams her right knee onto his left wrist. Her sweaty hair droops down, tickling the boy’s cheeks. She can’t be more than a foot from his face, and from here, staring into those strange grey eyes; she sees once again how young the boy is. Suddenly, Zuko’s exclamation pops into her head. “ _ You’re the Avatar?” _ In the two years of their fruitless search, she’d pictured finding some stern, wizened monk who would tower over her, barely registering her presence. Now, fear is etched in the young Avatar’s face, and Aiko feels that shame at the pit of her stomach rise up again.

“What are you waiting for?” Zuko yells from behind.

_ I don’t know. Why don’t I know what to do? _

The boy makes a decision for her, using the gap under her legs to slip out from under her. She scrambles to stand, only to see Zuko having a fierce battle with the boy. The firebender pushes him back, again and again, until the boy loses grip of his staff and goes tumbling over the edge.

Aiko, Zuko, and all of their soldiers rush to the side of the ship to watch his plunge.

From atop the flying fur-ball, a girl’s anguished voice cries out. “Aang!”

“I’m going in,” Aiko tells Zuko, who stood right beside her. His brows knot and he looks at her, really looks at her, for the first time since they spotted those damned lights. She doesn’t even know what’s compelling her to jump after the boy. On one hand, she has to capture him, and the Avatar is supposed to return alive. On the other, the sight of his young, grey eyes appallingly afraid of her won’t leave her memory.  _ She’s _ not supposed to be the evil one. 

Not willing to waste another second, Aiko vaults over the side of the ship and dives into the freezing water. Its chill immediately envelops her; so overwhelming she almost stops right then. The water’s depths are dark, and her eyes aren’t built for it. She strains to see the boy’s sinking form through the inky shadows as she pushes downward, gritting her teeth.

With each stroke, the cold threatens to lock up her joints and halt her heart.  _ It would be so easy to just… stop. To just relax, and let the water take me. I wouldn’t have to face my father, I wouldn’t have to spend my years wandering an arctic summer, I wouldn’t have to bear through one of Zuko’s bad moods, or one of Uncle’s games of Pai Sho. _

__

The boy’s form becomes closer.

_ I wouldn’t see Zuko or Uncle again. I’d be lost, at the bottom of this cold, dark ocean. _

__

The boy is just an arm’s length away.

_ And he’d be lost too. _

__

Finally, her numb fingers make contact, and she grasps his shirt so tightly a part of her is afraid it’ll rip. Going up is so much easier than going down, and her legs barely have to kick in their ascension.  _ Good thing too – I can’t feel them. _

The two burst above the water, gasping. Aiko furiously blinks the salt water away from her eyes and feels them sting horribly. The boy is limp in her arms, most likely knocked unconscious from the force of the water hitting his back on the fall. They arose far from the ship, or at least what felt like a hundred miles, as Aiko knew that she’d never be able to swim that distance in the state she was in. She could barely keep herself afloat, much less swim carrying another person and going against the current.  _ So it was all for nothing. I can’t even save people correctly. _

Breaking her out of her sullen thoughts was a roar from above. She sees the flying fur-ball circle around them, slowly descending.

“H – h – hurry up,” she tried to yell, but found she couldn’t feel her lips, and her teeth were uncontrollably chattering.

The thing came down from the sky, landing softly in the water a short distance away. There were two water-tribe people on its back, sitting on a large saddle. Up close, the thing seems a lot larger than Aiko previously thought it was.  _ It could definitely eat me if it wanted to. _

She struggles to swim towards their extended hands, which retract when they realize who holds their friend.

“It’s  _ you _ ,” the water-tribe boy snarls. She recognizes him as the one who charged at Zuko, to little success.

Aiko can’t even muster up the energy to glare at him and just holds out her right hand for them to pull on. The boy reluctantly hauls her up, with the girl reaching out to take the Avatar.

Aiko collapses on the saddle, now assaulted with the freezing winds. From the corner of her eye, she sees the girl take off her heavy coat and drape it across the Avatar’s body. Her companion, the one with the boomerang, glares at her.

“I hope you don’t think I’m going to offer you  _ my _ coat.”

Aiko manages to give him a mocking smile through her chattering teeth, trying to show the kid how little she thought of his offer.

He scoffs. “Fine. Die of hypothermia. See if I care.”

“J – just dump m – me,” she says, indicating the metal ship that rose out of the water.

The two share a look. “What’s the harm?” the girl asks. The boy elbows her. As an understanding look dawning on her face, she sternly turns to Aiko. “As long as you promise to leave our tribe alone. Otherwise, we’ll drop you right back in the ocean.”

Aiko shrugs, the picture of apathy.  _ The Avatar is right next to me, unconscious. That’s the whole reason I risked my life, wasn’t it? To capture him? And now I’m just supposed to walk off – _

__

A shiver that wracked her body interrupted her thoughts.  _ Who am I kidding? I can barely move, much less beat these two in a fight. Agni, that’s hard to admit. _

The girl moves to the thing’s head and says some gibberish, and the flying fur-mountain ascends from the water with a roar. Wind whips at Aiko’s face, and she’s treated to the sight of an incredible landscape of ice and water with a bird’s eye view. Briefly, she’s overcome with an urge to paint it all. Next to her, the Avatar’s sleep is relatively peaceful, considering the day he’s had.  _ Maybe all of his days are like this. Is that what my life is going to become, chasing this fool across the globe? _

She tries to imagine fighting him again, knowing that she once gripped him tight and raised him from the bowels of this arctic sea, right after staring into his eyes and being ashamed of the fear that lay there. How could she ever strike him down and sentence him to spend the rest of his life in the depths of the Fire Nation’s prison, knowing his name is Aang and that he flits around the room like a sparrow, evading instead of attacking.

_ You saved him because you thought it’d be awfully inconvenient to drag a dead body out of these waters. But did I? I don’t know. Spirits, I wish this wasn’t so complicated. Why couldn’t the Avatar be an evil old man? _

They approach the ship, an ugly black mark on the white and blue panorama. The girl moves to help Aiko stand, but she waves her off. Still dripped wet, she leans heavily on the edge of the saddle, watching with slight sadistic glee as the giant furry animal lands on deck with a resounding  _ thwump _ , knocking the soldiers back – including Zuko.

“Get his staff!” The girl commands, as Aiko stumbles off the beast’s back.  _ Me? _

She feels ready to collapse, weighed down by her sopping clothes, her aching muscles, and the growing guilt on her shoulders. She’s faintly aware of the two villagers fighting some of her men, but she’s too absorbed in making sure each foot lands in front of the other as she walks away from the scene.

Eventually, Aiko makes it inside. It’s warmer here, and the sun isn’t glaring at her. The sight of Uncle, who envelops her in a hug, greets her bleary eyes. She’s too tired to protest his blatant show of affection.

“My, you’ve had a long day,” he says softly. He abruptly pulls out of the warm embrace, scolding, “Look at you – you’re a mess! Get changed, and you can meet me to warm up with a nice cup of tea, and tell me all about what’s happened.”

She grunts.  _ I’d like that. _

There’s a rumbling outside, and the floor beneath them quakes. Uncle frowns. “I guess it’ll have to wait a moment.” 

Both go onto the deck to see a mountain of snow and ice on the deck of their ship, as well as a gaping hole in one of the icebergs looming above. Zuko kneels on a patch of free space, scowling.  _ What happened here?  _

“Well, it’s good news for the Fire Lord. Our greatest threat is only a little kid,” Uncle says, somehow optimistic in the face of the avalanche right in front of him.

“That  _ kid _ , Uncle, just did this,” Zuko utters darkly. “I won’t underestimate him again.” He turns around. “Dig this ship out and follow them!”

  
Aiko realizes that the men Zuko tried to command were encased in ice, meaning one of those two riding the fur-giant were waterbenders. They were slowly being thawed with torches and steady firebending. Aiko’s sympathy for the Avatar starts to wean, staring at the mess surrounding her.  _ He must’ve woken, only to bring  _ this _ down on my ship. And after I saved his life! Some gratitude. Was he even drowning? Was he just faking it in a ploy to get rid of me? No - you’re being paranoid. The boy barely knows you. Do as Uncle suggested and get some clean clothes on. I’m sure you smell disgusting.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. The Southern Air Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking of your journey, how has your hunt for the Avatar gone?” Zhao asks, with a shark-like smile. He somehow manages to loom over Zuko and Aiko, despite sitting next to them.
> 
> Aiko smiles. “No change, I’m afraid. He remains quite the elusive legend.”
> 
> “Of course he is,” Zhao replied. “It’s quite hard to search for a dead man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I hate Zhao.

Aiko sat on a pillow indoors, leaning against a wall watching Zuko tear apart a dummy with his dual swords. His movements are aggressive and harsh; yet hold a certain fluidity that betrays greater experience. Aiko lazily tracks Zuko as he shifts across the room, grunting in time with each strike. She finds it much easier to focus on him than spare a thought on the Avatar. Did she want to bring him home? Yes. Did she recognize that they were natural enemies? Also yes. But did she want to sentence a child to a life in prison, or worse? Despite everything she’d been taught, no. If only he were evil.

After getting a cup of tea from Uncle and giving him a watered down version of events, one where the boy’s hands were immediately freed and he was a ruthless bender, Aiko took a shower. Now, she sits on a training room floor, listening to the hum of the ship’s engine around them. 

Zuko pays her no mind, totally absorbed in whatever violent fantasy he’s stuck in, shredding the poor training dummy. Aiko was content to just watch. While it was true that the next time she fights the Avatar, she wants to be able to tell her Uncle the whole truth without ruining her reputation, it embarrasses her to be so unhinged. A fight will do that; leave you messy and gasping for breath, and Aiko prides herself on her composure. 

“Are you going to join me, or just watch?” Zuko asks, taking a momentary pause in his swinging.

“Well I can’t exactly wield the same double swords,” she responds, waving her right hand.

Zuko frowns and continues his practice. They stay that way for a few minutes, and Aiko is nearly lulled to sleep by the hum of her ship and its gentle rocking. Her eyelids are so heavy. She is just barely aware of the whistling of his swords as they cut through the air, or Zuko’s gasps of air in between his strikes. After a while, he stops, setting his swords to the sides.

“How can you nap at a time like this?” he asks under his breath. Aiko pretends not to hear him, feigning sleep. “You need to train too if you want any hope of going home. Uncle might tell us that endurance is a weakness, calling my drive obsession. But if obsession gets us home, then I’m happy to play the part. We got stuck chasing a myth, and now we have a chance at redemption.” He takes a few labored breaths, thinking on what to say next. “I need you to be better than this. We finally have a chance - _nothing_ can get in the way.”

She hears him wretch open the door and stomp out, muttering to himself. The room is silent. Zuko’s raspy voice echoes in her head before she shoves it down, standing up quickly. _So that’s what he thinks? That I’m just some lazy, good for nothing sister who’s so worthless she can’t even capture a little boy? I’ve done plenty - he just can’t see it._

A little voice in her head starts to object, sounding suspiciously like Azula. _Oh, stop overreacting. He’s absolutely right to criticize you._

_Is he though? I jumped into Arctic waters to capture the boy -_

_Don’t pretend that you cared about capturing him then, you just wanted to save his life, because some weak part of you holds onto compassion where there should be none. He’s the_ enemy.

Scowling, she leaves the room and goes to her own. They’d be docking soon to make repairs on the ship from the damage the Avatar had wrecked, and Aiko plans on meeting Zuko on solid ground excelling at the one thing she’s good at – presentation. 

~

Their ship squeezes between two giant tankers on the dock, and Aiko can’t help but compare sizes. She’s reminded that her father gave Zuko and her a troop of leftovers and the most inexpensive ship in his fleet. Her vessel is not only half the size of a normal Fire Nation ship, but it’s front is swathed with wooden boards, thanks to the Avatar. 

A ramp extends from the ship to the dock and Aiko tries to focus on the expansive dock that lies in front of her. She’d worked up the courage to ask one of the crew to do her hair so it now looked rather nice and neat for a change, and she’d put on her best outfit, a fancy getup best suited for a princess. 

At the bottom of the ramp she meets Zuko and Iroh, who both barely acknowledge her presence. She just catches the tail end of their conversation

“Don’t mention his name on these docks,” Zuko whispers. “Once word gets out that he’s alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don’t want anyone getting in the way.” He glances at Aiko with his last sentence. 

All three are interrupted by a familiar voice. “Getting in the way of what?” Captain Zhao asks. He steps forward to meet Aiko and Zuko, and somehow manages to meet both sets of eyes with an intimidating stare.

“Getting in the way of our ship repairs,” Aiko says smoothly. “We have a few dunces on board and I don’t want any of them getting in the way.” She glances at Zuko to see if he’s paying attention to her. He only has eyes for Zhao.

“Captain Zhao.” Zuko’s arms are crossed. If her quick thinking or nice clothes at all impress him, she sees no sign of it.

“It’s Commander now.” He bows at Uncle. “General Iroh, great hero of our nation,” he says, saccharinely sweet. 

Suck up. Aiko makes sure to keep her face impassive. Her brother does not.

Uncle bows back. “Retired.”

“The Fire Lord’s brother and children are welcome guests anytime. May I ask what happened to your ship? That’s quite a bit of damage.” 

Zuko and Iroh fumble for words. “Yes… you wouldn’t believe what happened,” Zuko manages. He fails to elaborate. The Commander looks unimpressed.

“An iceberg fell on us. The South Pole has a lot of avalanches, unfortunately,” Aiko says, furtively glancing at Zuko to see if he’s impressed by her lie. She feels a rush of vindictive satisfaction to see that, yes, both Zuko and Uncle were looking at her with gratitude.

“Well, if this story is so interesting, I have to hear it.” Zhao leans forward menacingly, keeping eye contact with Aiko. “Why don’t you three join me for tea?” 

She straightened her back and smiled. “That would be lovely, thank you.”

At the same time, Zuko says, “Sorry, but we have to go,” not looking sorry in the slightest. The two stare at each other for a moment before Uncle breaks the tension, laying a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

“Show Commander Zhao your respect.” He turns towards Zhao. “We would be honored to join you,” he declares, walking forward to stroll with Zhao and talk of tea and the weather.

Aiko glances at her brother, who is burning a hole in the back of Zhao’s head. “Sorry,” she mutters. _I’m trying to help you, idiot._

“What?” He whips towards her, shoulders tense.

“Nothing. We should get going,” she says with a scowl. 

“Why are you mad about this? You agreed to do it.”

“Because I had to!” Aiko snaps. She takes a moment to collect herself. “We need to act as pleasant as possible in front of Zhao, so he doesn’t suspect a thing. I’m trying to be helpful.”

Zuko scoffs. “You were being more of a suck up than he was. You were all like, ‘that would be lovely, thank you, my lord and savior, Commander Zhao, now can I have a taste of that boot?’” 

“Shut up.” Aiko turns away blushing and tries to catch up to Uncle and Zhao. Zuko trails behind her. “At least the Commander likes me,” she calls from over her shoulder, smug. 

“Why should I care if Zhao likes me?” Zuko exclaims, arms waving. “He’s arrogant and spineless.”

Aiko frowns. _You’re not wrong. Why_ do _I care if that old fart likes me? I’m the princess of this forsaken place, he should be honor-bound to like me._ She elbows her brother, much to his chagrin. “Keep it down, he could hear us.”

Up ahead on the dock, Uncle and Zhao enter a fancy, expansive tent marked with the Fire Nation seal, a blazing red and orange. Zuko and Aiko reluctantly follow, eyeing the guards that stand tall at the entrance. 

“Seems a bit excessive,” Aiko whispers. 

“Like I told you, he’s arrogant. Probably likes to show off.” Zuko’s expression makes it very clear that ‘showing off’ is the foulest thing he could imagine. Aiko tries not to be reminded of the extravagant palace she’d called home, which is leagues beyond any tent Zhao could conjure up. She tugs at her sleeves, thankful that she wore more than a simple shirt and pants today, ulterior motives be damned.

Inside was a long, wooden table low to the ground, and a large detailed map, which hung at the front of the room. The interior was empty of people, save for two more guards whose armor nearly blended into the red of the tent.

Zhao stands by the map and is explaining something to Uncle, who, to the untrained eye, is listening attentively. However, Aiko knows that glazed look on his face, as it is the exact same look he gives her when she tries to talk about whatever scroll she was reading. 

Zuko and Aiko both settle at the table, clearly uncomfortable. Zuko’s disdain is written on his face, while Aiko, however, is doing her best to mirror her uncle, in that she looks vaguely interested in what the Commander is saying. He’s talking about plans to take over the Earth Kingdom capital through some combination of naval and ground forces, pointedly gesturing at the map with a long wooden stick. Zuko seems enthralled, if reluctantly so, because he’s always had a mind for this type of thing. Sure, Aiko understands it well enough, but it consistently bores her. 

Still, she manages to keep her eyes trained on Zhao until he finishes talking, almost an hour later. At one point they got tea, and Aiko made a careful show of politely sipping it every thirty seconds. 

“-And by year’s end, Ba Sing Se will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war.” Zhao turns to face his three spectators, arms behind his back.

“If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he’s a fool,” Zuko says harshly, staring at his cold, full cup of tea. 

Zhao sits down next to him, staring at Zuko’s scar. “Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue.” 

“It’s been a rather stressful journey, Commander Zhao, if I’m being frank. And my brother does have a point,” Aiko interrupts, seeing that her brother was near his breaking point with Zhao.

“Of course, perfectly rational,” Zhao responds, making it clear that he doesn’t think it’s rational at all. “Speaking of your journey, how has your hunt for the Avatar gone?”

Iroh has, up to this point, been messing with some weapons in the back of the room. He chooses that moment to eloquently fumble with all of them.

Aiko smiles. “No change, I’m afraid. He remains quite the elusive legend.”

“Of course he is,” Zhao replied. “It’s quite hard to search for a dead man.”

“You’re absolutely right.” 

Zhao’s stare bores into the two of them, looking for some sign of deception. Aiko just hopes to Agni that Zuko’s poker face has gotten better, or at the very least he has some grace to look into his tea. 

“You know,” Zuko stands, “I think we’ll be going now.”

The guards block him at the door, and Zuko roars in indignation. “What’s the meaning of this?” 

Zhao smiles, if she could even call it that. It more resembled a shark-orca baring its teeth. “Your men have confirmed that you held the Avatar on your ship, but let him escape. What kind of avalanche takes the form of a twelve year old boy, I ask?”

Zuko’s face twists into a snarl. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Whatever crew member you spoke with must be sick with delusions after years at sea,” Aiko adds. “Are you sure it hasn’t spread?”

“Don’t kid yourselves.” Zhao motions for the guards to march forward, pointing their spears at Zuko’s throat. Aiko can’t help but think of how flammable the whole tent is. What if she just set Zhao on fire? The bootlicker deserved little less. 

More guards appeared in the room, indistinguishable from one another. Her, Uncle and Zuko are backed into their seats. She’s staring down the line of a spear, and Aiko really wished she were a peasant who didn’t have to bother with being polite in front of the enemy, but she found herself with a straight back and her hands, good and bad, folded into her lap anyways. 

Uncle seems to have the same idea, looking as relaxed as ever. Aiko wishes she could achieve that same level of deception – or maybe he really is always calm. It seems whenever she tries to be that sturdy, her breathing eventually collapses and her thoughts always come back to the lessons on court proceedings that were drilled into her head. Your hands folded just this way, bow this many degrees, mouth closed, eyes down, perfect, yes, voice soft and smooth, good, now you can fool the best of them. It’s always about the appearance of calm, the perfect façade of rational. 

“If you think you can treat the royal family this way, you have another thing coming, Zhao,” Zuko barks. He never took to those lessons, and it’s one of the things Aiko appreciates most about him. Never has she met someone more frank.

“It’s Commander Zhao, and yes, I think I do. It’s called a promotion,” he drawls, ever the looming, smug leech. 

Uncle smiles easily. “Now, now. Is there any need to get uncivil? We will admit to telling… to stretching the truth earlier. But now everything is out in the open, and we can call you an ally.”

“Sure.” Zhao’s lip curls in disgust. “An ally.”

Zuko and Aiko sit in sullen silence. Polite sullen silence, in Aiko’s case; at least, that’s what she told herself as Uncle told the story from his diluted, uncle-friendly perspective. As his story washed over her, she thought back to what Zuko said this morning – how frustrated he’d been. Was he slightly less mad at her now? Probably not, it was her who let the Avatar escape while she was freezing atop that monster, and it was her who couldn’t keep up with him as he chased her in circles. What a mess. All she wanted was for Zuko to like her, to not look at her like too many people had looked at her – with disgust in his eyes. She just hates it. She just wants to be admired, is that too much to ask?

“So you three idiots let a twelve year old escape your grasp?” Zhao asks, voice dripping with malice. Oh. She guessed Uncle was done.

“It’s not that simple,” Zuko protests. “He’s the Avatar, like nothing we’ve ever seen.”

“You can’t make whatever excuses you want, but the truth of the matter is you are too incompetent to handle the responsibility of this task.”

Zuko bursts out of his chair. “That’s not fair! We’ve been hunting him for two years, you can’t just-”

Zhao’s fists light up, his sneer illuminated by the fire. The details of his face are lost, and Aiko is violently reminded of someone else. She just wanted to be loved, was it really too much to ask?

“Your insolence is unfortunate, Prince Zuko, but expected.” Guards have to hold Zuko back as he lunges forward at Zhao’s receding back. Aiko doesn’t think she could move, even if she wanted to. “Keep them here,” Zhao says, before he leaves the tent. 

Zuko upturns the table with a snarl. It crashes, and the silverware shatters. Aiko jolts, and wishes she could really just burn the tent down as her heart races in her chest. She settles for staring at her lap, at her one bad hand. Chunks of it are missing, and her fingers are frozen. She hates eating in front of the crew, besides her Uncle and Zuko, cause they see how much she struggles cutting her fish and carrying her food. It’s embarrassing, to have someone else do it for her. 

She thinks all of this as she examines the shards at her feet. They were the teacups, offered as a courtesy. The porcelain reflected the torches lining the wall, holding its yellow reflection in a thousand different ways. As the fire dances, so does the porcelain. It’s certainly a more interesting show than whatever tension is coiled up in Zuko, tension she doesn’t know or have the energy to relieve. This is why she has Uncle, who, despite all of the insufferable proverbs and endless games of old board games, always knows what to say. Right now, though, his eyes are closed and – is he meditating or asleep? Either is likely.

After what feels like an eternity of stewing in silence, Zhao returns to the tent with a flair. Zhao says, “Once my ships are packed and I’m out at sea, my guards will escort you to your ship.”

Zuko scowls. “What? Worried we’d catch him first?”

Zhao laughs and Aiko really wishes she had a quieter brother. “You? Stop me? What could a banished prince and princess, an old fat man, a crew of discarded soldiers and that clunker of yours have against a whole naval fleet?”

Zuko stands. He’s been doing a lot of that lately. Can’t he have his heated arguments sitting down? Dramatic effect, Aiko supposes. “Don’t underestimate me, Zhao. We will capture the Avatar before you.”

Uncle puts a hand on his shoulder. “Prince Zuko, that’s enough.”

Damn, now Aiko was the only one sitting. Despite herself, she felt rather small.

“Do you expect to compete with me? You have no allies, no resources, and no home. Your own father threw you away on an impossible task, only to-”

“How dare you!” Zuko exclaims. Aiko feels her heart race. She just wants to leave, she didn’t ask for this dissection of her entire life. “Once I capture the Avatar, I’ll be welcomed with open arms, and restore my honor.”

“Do you really believe that?” Zhao drawls. “If your father really cared for you, would you still be here, practically alone at sea? If he really wanted you, then he’d have you at his side. And even worse - would you have that scar?”

Zuko lunges forward with a growl, and Uncle rushes to hold him back. Aiko's ears are ringing. She can’t afford to think about the words he’s saying, just to focus on getting out, back to her room, where she can feel her feelings in privacy. 

Zhao turns to face her with a sharp, twisted smile. “And you, I noticed you hardly lifted your right hand to drink tea. Was it always like that? Or – oh wait, my apologies. You have quite the nasty scar too, don’t you? It’s a matching set.” 

Aiko feels tears bud in her eyes, blurring her vision. She needs to stay impassive, she reminds herself. But her sight is filled with the red of the torchlight, and maybe something else too. Distantly, she hears Zuko challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai, and can’t bring herself to care. Or maybe she does, and looks forward to the possibility of fear on that man’s face.

Zhao storms out. Finally.

She realizes she’s been gripping Zuko's arm, and tears her hand away. Uncle and Zuko are arguing over what happened last time Zuko did an Agni Kai, and Aiko just has to leave. She just has to get away, to breathe fresh air and get out of that tent and read a scroll or something and just leave. 

The guards try to stop her, but she pushes them out of the way. They’re yelling at her, but she can’t hear what they’re saying. In the distance, her ship, _her_ ship, half the size of everyone else’s, is docked. She manages a brisk walk, but really just wants to run to safety. Belatedly, she wonders if Zuko and Uncle noticed her leaving. Her rust bucket is waiting for her, a little less damaged than before. Lieutenant Jee greets her on deck, and she musters up the energy to smile at him. He says something to her. She’s walking away. He’s saying it again, louder.

“What?” She tries to keep the smile plastered on.

Jee sighs. “I asked you how it went. Twice. You were gone longer than expected.”

“Oh.” Aiko knows the man barely tolerates her. It’s probably a fair opinion. “We’re fine. Nothing happened. Just some tea.”

Jee raises an eyebrow. He’s very good at that. Aiko tried doing it in the mirror several times, but never got it quite right. “You seem… tense.”

Aiko realizes she’d dropped her smile, and wants to kick herself. “You’ll probably hear all about it when Zuko boards. He got in an Agni Kai.”

She was expecting him to be shocked. He just raised his other eyebrow. “With who?”

“Some guy, I don’t know,” Aiko says, because she really doesn’t want to revisit the whole afternoon. “I need a shower. Excuse me.”

~

The Agni Kai was at sunset, a few minutes. The field is awash in an orange glow. She’d considered not showing up, but she wanted to be able to step in. She knows it’s against the rules, but some part of her can’t forget the last Agni Kai she’d run interference for, and no matter how much Zuko resents her for it, she couldn’t help herself. She’s never watching that happen to her brother again. 

The arena is built out of stone, wide and open, with an appropriate sunset of red and orange. The walls are draped with Fire Nation banners, and there are crowds on all sides. 

On one end of the arena is Zhao. On the other is Zuko, where she and Uncle stand. 

“Remember your firebending basics,” Uncle warns. 

“I know.”

Aiko scowls. “Fight back.” 

“I know. I’m not letting him win.”

“Of course you aren’t. Good luck.”

Zuko takes his shirt off and turns around. There’s a whole arena between the two men, but at the sound of the gong, the gap quickly closes as Zuko charges towards Zhao, dragging his flame with him.

Zuko fights angry, all sharp jabs and punches. With each of Zhao’s blasts, he deflects and disperses, ever on the cusp of being burnt. Aiko turns to look away, reminded of Zuko’s dual swords. With those, he always fought with grace.

Now, each attack is more aggressive than the last, as Zuko grows more frustrated. Zhao diffuses each and every attack leveled at him, snarling.

Zuko pauses to catch his breath, and he meets Aiko’s eyes. For a moment, she catches the fear behind his determination, and understands. 

“Win,” she says softly, knowing Zuko couldn’t possibly catch it over the distance. 

He seems to understand anyway, and nods at her.

Zhao is now on the offensive, and with each blast Zuko dodges and takes a few steps back. For the final blast, Zhao claps his hands together and creates a wave of fire that connects solidly, and Zuko is knocked to the ground.

Aiko, strangely, finds herself unafraid. Her brother is a good firebender and an honest man. If he vowed to catch the Avatar, then Aiko had absolute faith that he could find some way to do it. Under her breath, she gives a small prayer to Agni anyways.

Zhao presses his advantage, closing in on Zuko’ exposed form. Just before he strikes flame into the boy, murder in his eyes, Zuko kicks him away. He releases a series of attacks with newfound vigor, and Aiko realizes with a jolt that he’s using the same sweeping moves that she does. 

She smiles, and something in her warms. Is this what Uncle means by “inner fire?” Watching Zuko use his natural grace and her firebending moves to knock Zhao down a few pegs fills her with foreign passion, and she buries the urge to cheer him on.

Zuko moves quickly, kicking balls of flame at Zhao relentlessly. Finally, he’s poised to give the final blow, standing over Zhao. He takes a few moments to acknowledge the look of fear in Zhao’s eyes, before aiming a full body kick that lands mere inches from Zhao’s face. 

Relief flits across Zhao’s face before morphing into twisted satisfaction. He takes a few steps towards Zuko, who, for once, is perfectly composed.

“Coward,” Zhao spits in his face. “Finish the fight.”

“I just did,” Zuko replied, turning to walk away. “And if you try to get in our way again, I won’t be so merciful.”

Aiko and Uncle meet him on the edge of the arena, and Aiko briefly wonders if she should hug him. Zuko is still sullen, as always, but the fear behind his eyes is gone. 

From the corner of her eye, Aiko notices a flurry of movement. She sees fire rocketing towards Zuko's back, and she pushes him out of the way with a racing heart. She barely diffuses the blast. Using her good hand, she helps Zuko off the ground, who seems intent on retaliation. Aiko holds him back.

“Let Uncle deal with it,” she murmurs. Zuko, after a moment of deliberation, grudgingly agreed. The two of them walk away, the sunset on their backs. Aiko feels… good. It’s a strange feeling. She found herself looking forward to the next day, side by side with her brother. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, I'm not completely happy with this chapter. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!


	4. The Warriors of Kyoshi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There was a group of kids that came through here a few hours ago.” Oh spirits, no. “They were weird. Two of them had these thick blue coats, which I’ve never seen before, and the other one was bald, with a tattoo in his forehead.” Agni have mercy. “I think it was a star? Or maybe it was an arrow… I can’t remember. Either way, they were weird.”
> 
> Aiko stands there, slack jawed. “Huh,” she says. “Interesting.”
> 
> “Right?” The woman says. “And the craziest thing, they didn’t leave in a ship, but rather a flying, fluffy, six-legged thing.”
> 
> “Crazy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if we almost kissed... dressed up as Kyoshi Warriors... and we were both girls...

Aiko steps off her ship, taking a breath of fresh air. They’d spent the past few days tracking sightings of the Avatar to no avail – he seemed to be a master of evasive maneuvers. 

Either way, Aiko needed a break from the sea. She was leaving under the pretenses of “looking for more news about the Avatar,” but she knows that neither Uncle nor Zuko were fooled. That’s fine. It’s still her day off.

Her ship left the small port, and they’d planned to come back at sundown. That gave her at least a few hours to herself. Just thinking about it made her smile.

She was at a small island, one of many in this area. She wandered down its main street, taking in the sights and smells. Today, apparently, they’d set up a market. Aiko could see fish, tools, spices, jewelry, and more. It was a surprising amount of things for a small population.

As she strolled along the cobblestone street, she took a little satisfaction in the lack of attention she was given. Early on, Aiko realized that the Earth Kingdom hated the Fire Nation, for whatever reason. Zuko might be too stubborn to get a pair of green clothes, but she saw the sense in it. She’d also taken down her top-knot, so all her hair fell past her shoulders.

It was nice to just mill around the crowd, dressed in the same greens and browns that they wore. No one gave her a second glance. 

She came to a food vendor, selling fish of different shapes and sizes. The person running the stand was a young, strong-looking woman. She smiled when Aiko came to her booth.

“Everything looking good?” The woman asked. Aiko realized with a jolt that they looked to be about the same age, blushing. She rarely got to see other teenage girls, much less pretty ones, with huge biceps. 

“Yeah, it’s all very…” Aiko makes it a resolution to have more normal conversations with actual people. “… fresh. It looks fresh. Nice. It looks very good.”

The woman laughed heartily. “I’m glad it’s up to your liking. I haven’t seen you around – are you new here?”

Aiko shoves her hands into her pockets, looking at the ground. “How did you know?”

“This is a pretty small place. Everyone knows everyone here, except I’ve never seen hide nor hair of you.” She replies. 

Aiko chuckles nervously. “You caught me.” 

“So what are you doing here?” The woman asks, leaning on the table between them. Aiko struggles to meet her gaze. The woman’s eyes are a deep brown, and there was something warm about them. She hopes the woman doesn’t notice her golden irises, lest this conversation come to a cold end.

“I’m looking for someone,” Aiko says. The best lies are based on the truth, after all. “They were passing through this way.”

“Huh. That’s strange. We don’t get a lot of travelers. Although…” 

Oh spirits. Did the woman have actual information on the Avatar? Why was the universe so intent on pushing her onto this path; she just wanted some tuna-koi and a day off.

“Although what?” Aiko asked, hoping the woman would mention some guy who’s totally irrelevant to her grand destiny. 

“There was a group of kids that came through here a few hours ago.”  _ Oh spirits, no _ . “They were weird. Two of them had these thick blue coats, which I’ve never seen before, and the other one was bald, with a tattoo in his forehead.”  _ Agni have mercy. _ “I think it was a star? Or maybe it was an arrow… I can’t remember. Either way, they were weird.”

Aiko stands there, slack jawed. “Huh,” she says. “Interesting.”

“Right?” The woman says. “And the craziest thing, they didn’t leave in a ship, but rather a flying, fluffy, six-legged thing.”

“Crazy.”

“I know! But that’s probably not who you’re looking for.”

“No,” Aiko nervously chuckles. “Of course not.”

For a moment, she considers dropping it. What if she just bought some fish, smiled at the nice woman, and left to wander the small island? That sounds so nice. But then, when would it end? Sure, her ship would arrive at sundown to take her away, but when would she stop needing to take days off at small Earth Kingdom islands where everyone knows everyone and no one knows what a shower is. When would she get to go home?

“Did you see where they went?” She finally asks, hoping for a non-answer so she could tell herself that she, at least, tried.

The woman nods, before leaning out of the booth. “That way,” she says, pointing south. “There’s not a lot over there, though, other than Kyoshi Island, which is a really dangerous place for a bunch of kids.”

Aiko’s stomach drops. She smiles anyways, hoping it doesn’t look too forced. “Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”

The woman looks confused. “I guess so. And, sorry, I don’t think I ever caught your name?”

“Aiko.” 

The woman’s eyes flicker with familiarity. “That’s the Fire Nation’s princess’ name, isn’t it? Bad luck, I guess.”

Aiko nods half-heartedly, and turns to leave. Remembering herself, she turns back around. “And what’s your name?”

“Mei,” the woman replies. “It was nice meeting you. I hope you find who you’re looking for.”

“Yeah, me too,” Aiko says softly, and walks away. The dock isn’t well guarded, and she’s been at sea long enough to know how to sail.  _ To Kyoshi Island I go _ .

~

She lands on Kyoshi Island’s rocky shores a short while later, and considers her options. Mei mentioned it was a dangerous place, but failed to say why. Oh well, Aiko knew she could handle whatever the place had to offer. 

With a sigh, she examines the place. She was on a small beach, and, beyond it, was a thick forest. How she hoped to find the Avatar by herself on an alien island and bring him back to her ship, she didn’t know. A part of her considered turning back, that would be the cowardly thing to do. If there’s one thing her father made sure of, it’s that she never took the coward’s way out. 

A daughter of the Fire Lord carries on. 

Aiko trudges into the forest, searching the dirt floor for anything that could resemble footprints or tracks. Suddenly, she hears the snap of a branch and whirls around. Nothing. 

It was probably an animal, she thinks, before shrieking at the ten figures that drop from the trees. She barely has time to react as they blind her, bind her limbs in rope, and start dragging her away.

Ah. So this is what Mei meant by dangerous. 

She feels them drag her over dirt and mud, and bites back the impulse to tell her captors she’s royalty. They’d probably drag her even harder. 

“Could one of you – ow – carry me?” She asks. Her head goes over a root. “I don’t mean to sound – ow – needy or anything, I just think it would make everyone more comfortable.” Another root.

No response. She sighs with about as much dignity as someone being pulled across the ground like a sack of cabbages could muster, and accepts her fate. 

What feels like an eternity later, Aiko is put upright against what feels like a pole. Her bindings change, and she’s now tied to that, oh joy. If only Father could see her now. Fire Nation pride indeed.

Someone tears her blindfold off, and she’s met with the sight of several girls in strange makeup and skirts looking down at her. They don’t seem happy. 

“Hi. Hey. Sorry if my hair’s a mess, I’m normally a lot neater than this,” she says, trying for a smile.

One of the girls huff in what could, generously, be called laughter. Aiko will take that as a win. The girl at the front of the pack narrows her eyes, not amused. “How do we know you’re not a Fire Nation spy?”

_ Uhh. I’m not here to spy?  _ Aiko floundered for a few moments, while the girl’s piercing eyes examined her.

“The Fire Nation is too bull-headed to bother with spies.” The best lies are based in truth, after all. If Zuko were here, they’d know. Her brother had his strengths, but subtlety wasn’t one of them. “I think if they were attacking your village, you’d know it. I’m not wearing that fancy bun thing those guys wear, either.”

“A top-knot?” One of the girls says. 

“Yeah!” Aiko says, amazed that they’re buying any of this. 

“I don’t buy it,” the Head Girl says.  _ Hm. Maybe not. _ “Three other visitors arrived today, you wouldn’t happen to be after them at all?”

AIko shakes her head, the perfect picture of innocence. “No, not at all. I just stumbled upon this island trying to… uh… document rare birds. There’s supposed to be some crazy wildlife in these parts.”

“Really?” Head Girl replies, voice dripping with skepticism. 

“Yeah, I work for a university in… Ba Sing Se.” All Aiko can do now is pray the lie is good enough.

It’s hard to read their expressions under their makeup. Aiko struggles to keep her composure, but then again, when doesn’t she. 

Head Girl crouches to her level. “We’ve been neutral in the war for a long time – any possible intruders get thrown to the Unagi.”

Aiko gulps. They’re uncomfortably close. “What’s the Unagi, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s a giant monster that lives in the bay and eats people we don’t like.”

“Who don’t you like?”

Head Girl narrows her eyes, finding something in her face. “Fire Nation scum.”

Aiko starts to panic. Curse her sense of duty and destiny. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing,” she says, hoping they don’t catch the quiver in her voice. “I…”  _ Think, idiot, think!  _ “I… hate the Fire Nation as much as you do. They – they took everything from me.”

Head Girl considers her. “Like what?”

Never has Aiko been so grateful for her disfigurement.

“My… my hand for starters.” Aiko nods to her right hand, still bound, and their eyes find what’s left of it. Red and white blisters around her wrist, and chunks missing where fat and muscle used to be. It could barely be called a hand. Head Girl looks sympathetic, seeming to forget the blustering lines that came out moments before. Thank Agni. “It’s useless.”

Her heart races. If Azula or Father were here, they’d be appalled at the admission of weakness. They’d also probably kill everyone here. Aiko knows she’s not strong enough to pull that off. A daughter of the Fire Lord knows her strengths. .

For a dreadful web of seconds, the warriors give each other  _ looks _ . Then, they seem to come to a silent agreement. 

“I’m sorry,” Head Girl says, looking down at her. Aiko wants to take her pity and throw it to the Unagi, but then one of the girls goes to untie her. Head Girl’s pity was her gateway to the Avatar. 

“It’s fine.” She stands, and feels relief to be at their level. In fact, Aiko is slightly taller than most of them. It’s the little things. “So, who are you guys?” Looking up at the pillar - no, recently repainted statue - that she’d been tied to, she had a guess.

Her and the Head Girl start walking, and the rest of the girls disperse. “We’re the Kyoshi warriors, fighting in the name of Avatar Kyoshi. I’m Suki. Who are you?”

“Aiko,” she says, taking in the details of the village. It was quaint, and seemed like a nice place to live, if barbaric. As far as cultish warrior homes go, though, it seemed pleasant enough.. 

Suki stopped. “Isn’t that a Fire Nation name?”

_ I really need a fake name.  _ Aiko tries to look sheepish. “My mother is from the colonies. She gave it to me. My father never liked the name.”  _ Amazing, about two thirds of that are true. My powers of deception are truly a thing to behold. _

Suki looks wary but keeps walking. “I guess that would explain your eyes,” she says coolly.

“Oh – you noticed?” Aiko stutters. 

“Of course I did. Why else would I call you Fire Nation scum?” 

Aiko shrugs. “It could’ve been standard greeting for you guys – how should I know?”

Suki laughs behind her hand. It was a really nice sound. “You have a point. Like I said, we actually got three newcomers earlier today, and you really wouldn’t happen to know anything about them? It certainly seems like quite the coincidence.” She seems to look for a change in Aiko’s expression.

They stop on top of a small, wooden bridge that overlooks the village. The people below scurry around in a frenzy, chattering and rushing from place to place. Aiko can’t hear what they’re saying, but she sees the word Avatar on their lips. Noticing this, Aiko turns to the girl next to her, carefully neutral. “No. I have no clue what’s going on. I’m just here to research. Who else is here?”

Suki pauses for a few moments, and looks out. She looks contemplative, and Aiko’s heart quickens. “Before I do, you should know something. A lot of the girls here – most all of them, actually, look up to me. I’m their leader. I do a good job here, too. The war has barely touched us, and we’re at peace. The children here grow up happy and hopeful.” Suki turns to Aiko, considering her. Aiko wants to break eye contact, but she’s drawn to Suki’s gaze. It’s magnetic. The war paint helps.

So I just wanted to tell you,” Suki continues, “That if you disrupt what we have here, bring any kind of ruin to us, then I will not hesitate to get rid of you.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she meant. “I understand,” Aiko says, solemnly. Something twists in her gut, but she ignores it. So she has some stakes, big deal. People want to kill her all the time. She’s here for the Avatar, not some backwards Earth Kingdom village that doesn’t even have plumbing.

“Good.” Suki sighs in relief, and almost smiles. “The Avatar is here. After a hundred years, he’s finally back,” she laughs. 

Aiko manages a twitch of her lips. “Really?”

“Really!”

“Where is he now, then?” Aiko asks, trying to sound the right amount of eager. She looks over the village once again, and cannot see his orange robes flitting among the people. 

Suki shrugs. “Probably at the house we lent him – it’s a little late, he’s probably getting ready for bed.”

Aiko considers this. The sun is low, and she’d been sailing for the past couple of hours. Has the day gone by so quickly? She wonders if Zuko and Uncle are worried about her, and dismisses the thought.  _ They don’t really care _ . Besides, it would take too long to get back to them, and she was so tired anyways. Surely if the Avatar is sleeping, then so could she.

“Could I get a place to rest for the night? If it isn’t too much to ask, of course,” Aiko says, unsure of the extent of Suki’s hospitality. 

To her surprise, Suki smiles. “Of course. You’re our guest.”

“I feel like I went from scum to guest very quickly,” Aiko replies. Was it really that easy?

Suki starts walking off the bridge towards a row of small houses. “It’s a safety precaution.”

Belatedly following her, Aiko shakes her head. 

She finds herself at a small cottage, with a modest bedroom inside. Suki explains how they have a few empty houses due to a recent outbreak of disease, and laughs at Aiko’s brief look of panic. Once lying down, her muscles tell her to never get back up, and she sighs with relief. Then, a pang of guilt at that relief. A daughter of the Fire Lord doesn’t sleep in the middle of her urgent quest to return home and see Father again. Nevertheless, sleep overtakes her. Who knew operating a sailboat with one good hand and then being dragged across the dirt in a sack could be so exhausting. 

~

In the night, she wakes with a start, sweating. This is nothing new. Her bleary eyes find, replacing her windowless metal room, a small wooden bedroom with moonlight illuminating the space. It takes a few panicked moments before she remembers where she is, and a ball of shame comes to settle in her stomach. 

How dare she take refuge in the home of an enemy? Does she think Father became Fire Lord by trusting strangers and sleeping in their strange beds? She wishes she could light something on fire, but settles for violently squeezing her pillow. A Fire Lord doesn’t do things as undignified as screaming in the dead of night. Her nightmare doesn’t help matters. She remembers only the vague plot and the feelings behind it, but that’s enough. 

All of her nightmares are the same. She’s compelled to move, to act. The reason varies from dream to dream, but her destination is always the same. She confronts her father, atop his throne, and she’s so small. Father is yelling at her. She can feel her hand, until she can’t, and it’s on fire, and bones are breaking, and she’s screaming. They’ve gotten better over the past three years, but somehow the panic has barely faded. 

Eventually, she falls back asleep, chiding herself for not sneaking out and stealing the Avatar away in his sleep. Rationally, she has no allies here, and no method by which to force him onto her boat. Even if she could escape with the Avatar in tow, she has no idea where Zuko and Uncle are, so would have nowhere to take him. Drifting off, these thoughts manage to briefly comfort her, before her head empties and gives way to sleep. 

~

She wakes up later than usual, an hour or two after the sun has risen. Wow, she must have been exhausted then. She’s wearing the same clothes from the previous day, the Earth Kingdom greens and browns. They’re wrinkled and smell like mud, but she’s afraid to ask for a new pair. Who would she even ask?

While leaving the little cottage, she sees Suki dressed in uniform, walking down the little main road. Aiko trails behind her, nervous energy still present from last night’s nightmare. She’s all too aware of her precarious position on this island. Suki’s unusually generous offer is based on a lie, and she gets the notion that Suki sees right through her flimsy lies. Surely her little sob story wasn’t enough for these people? 

Aiko shakes her head. She’s being paranoid. A daughter of the Fire Lord doesn’t let daily nightmares get in the way of rational thought. 

Eventually she works up the courage to approach Suki, as casual as you please, “good mornings” and all. Suki smiles upon seeing her, and Aiko feels immense relief. Again, it’s quickly squashed. The daughter of the Fire Lord shouldn’t feel relief at making the enemy smile.

They come to a small dojo filled with other girls practicing fighting forms. In organized lines, their control over their breathing and muscles was clear. They wore the same makeup as Suki, and moved with a level of grace that Aiko could only hope to achieve with her firebending.

“You can watch from the sidelines, if you’re so interested,” Suki says, remarking upon Aiko’s open stare. 

She nearly blushes, not realizing she was so obvious. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

Suki nods, and goes to lead the girls. As they go through kicks and punches they barely break a sweat, caught in a beautiful dance of green and yellow. Aiko is reminded of the Avatar, and the way he flits around the room in a blur of orange. 

Her eyes are drawn to the other girl during her lesson. Suki’s hair, a messy halo around her head; her legs, long and slender, moving across the floor like it was nothing; her face, even beneath the makeup, was clearly perfect. Again, the guilt resurfaces. She shouldn’t be thinking the enemy  _ pretty _ .

Watching them fight, a small part of Aiko’s brain thought of joining them. What if she just stayed here? A part of her wants to laugh. Agni would never let that happen, she knows. He’s ever determined to string her along to her Grand Destiny. 

So she watches Suki, cautiously allowing herself daydream about another life, where she grew up here, and stayed here for the rest of her days. It was a peaceful village. Lacking in basic technology, but so far from the war, so maybe that made up for it somehow. It seemed better than being stuck on a rundown metal ship for all of eternity. 

Then again, the eternity on that rust bucket would end just as soon as she captured the Avatar.

At some point, the Kyoshi take a break. Suki walks over, and sits down to Aiko. Her face is barely flushed, not that Aiko would be able to tell under the face paint. 

“Do you want to try?” Suki asks, breathing heavily. 

“I – what?” Aiko startles. 

Suki points to the corner of the dojo, where an extra uniform lay on the floor. “We could teach you some basics. I know you’d only be using one hand, so some of our forms wouldn’t work, but it could be fun.”

Fun? “I don’t see why not.”

As she got suited up, a voice that sounded suspiciously like her father was berating her for not going after the Avatar. He was within a few miles of her, probably defenseless. Another voice, one sounding more like Uncle, told her to be patient. Now clad in the Kyoshi uniform, complete with a pair of black gloves and a fan, she was ready for the next step.

Suki holds out a palate of while paint. Aiko realizes what’s being asked of her. She knows she couldn’t apply it herself. 

She takes the palate quite deliberately in one hand, leaving Suki with the brush. Swallowing her pride, she tries to focus on Suki’s face. “Could you help me?”

Suki nods, and they sit on a nearby bench. Aiko sits, perfectly still, trying not to look too intimate. They’re so close together. Aiko can see every bump and crease on Suki’s face. She sees where the paint has worn off, the peach fuzz on her top lip, and the soft slope of her nose. She’s even better up close.

The brush goes over her face slowly and deliberately. Her face has never been painted, and Aiko’s worried about messing it up. At one point Suki starts to hum. She isn’t very good at it, but Aiko loves it all the same. She wonders if she could put this moment in a bottle, to be taken out whenever she can’t breathe, and her father’s voice gets too loud.

Aiko starts to think that she needs some happier memories. 

“All done,” Suki says, interrupting her thoughts, pulling her brush away.

Aiko gingerly touches the paint on her face, and her fingertips come away white. “Thank you,” she says. She wants to say more, but can’t find the words. How could she tell Suki what this means to her? That Suki trusts her and is close to her. It’s all so easy here.

Suki calls the other girls back from their little break, they begin to go through basic forms again. The rest of them have two fans in hand, but Aiko has one. Despite this, she finds their style of fighting an interesting blend of different forms, some of which firebending. She catches along quickly, and, on a few occasions, has to prevent herself from manipulating the torches on the wall.

After about ten minutes, they’d stopped again, and Suki grins. “You’re a natural!” She exclaims, patting Aiko on the back. She tentatively smiles back, feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. 

“Really?” She knows it’s all based on a lie, but nevertheless, the compliment makes her glow.  _ Coward. _

“Yeah,” Suki replies, “Some of your forms are a little weird, but you have amazing balance and reflexes. A born fighter! Which is strange, for someone who researches rare birds.”

Aiko almost laughs, reminded of her lie, and she can barely contain her excitement at the glowing praise. A bit of doubt creeps in, telling her that if she told Suki why she was so good, she would be kicked out in an instant, fed to the Unagi (or worse). But that problem can be easily circumvented, as long as she keeps her mouth shut. 

The Avatar can wait.

They’re about ready to start practice again when a boy walks in. A very familiar boy, dressed in outdated blue robes. _ Oh, spirits.  _ Aiko wants to hit something - preferably him. It was the boy whose boomerang hit Zuko in the back of the head, and then met her on top of that fluffy white monster when they pulled her and the Avatar out of freezing water.

And he’s here. Of course he is, spirits damn it all. Mei said that the Avatar was travelling with two other kids dressed in blue, and of course Aiko forgot about this because she was too caught up in being dragged across mud and looking at Suki’s pretty face. 

The boy looks them over, and laughs. “That’s cute,” he says, patronizing. 

Aiko  _ really _ wants to hit him. She realizes, however, that this means the boy didn’t recognize her under the face paint, and she feels a little relief. She watches as Suki gives the boy a talking-to, and relishes his grunt of pain as Suki throws him on the floor. 

Suki teaches the boy a lesson, which is not to mess with strong-looking girls in war paint. He leaves, dragging his feet out the door, frowning. Aiko realizes she probably shouldn’t have relished the beating as much as she did, but alas. These feelings tend to crop up when one is raised in the Fire Lord’s household.

She remembers being trained alongside Zuko, and taking pleasure each time he fell down and she didn’t. When they failed together, that made the shame a little less. When Aiko was the one to get knocked down, she couldn’t look at herself in the mirror. Her father wouldn’t yell at her then, just ignore her. She got ignored often.

Eventually, the boy comes back. Shame is written all over his face, and Aiko finds herself feeling incredibly sympathetic. Does he feel the same way when he’s defeated? Do his guts boil and his nights turn sleepless? What does failure do to him, she wonders. 

The boy bows, deeply. “I’m so sorry,” he says, his head nearly touching the floor. His voice is even, and she decides her shame couldn’t be the same as his. “I’m Sokka, and I would be honored to learn how to fight like you.” 

Suki looks down at him, and looks around. She meets Aiko’s eyes.  _ What do you think? _ They seem to ask. Startled that her opinion means anything to Suki, Aiko nods. Suki looks back at the boy, Sokka. He’s still bowing.

Suki steps toward him, and he looks up to meet her eyes. “Sure,” she says, “but it might get intense. Think you can handle it?”

Sokka nods with enthusiasm. “Of course.”

They get him suited up, and soon the only people in the room are Sokka, Suki, and Aiko. The boy looks at Aiko, slightly confused. 

“Should I leave?” Aiko asks Suki, hoping she could avoid the risk of being recognized.

Suki looks them both over. “No, I don’t think so. I guess we’re having a class of two today.”

A part of Aiko feels relief, and she wishes it would go away. Azula would leave anyway, to look for the Avatar. And yet, here she stays, wasting hours on a stupid fighting lesson with a girl who’d hate her if she knew the truth. It’s weakness, plain and simple.

Aiko turns to Sokka, and offers her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she says, through gritted teeth.

Sokka takes note of her gloved hands. He shakes the proffered arm. “Nice to meet you too.” He examines her face, and Aiko resists the urge to squirm under his stare. He looks away, dismissing his suspicion. 

Aiko wishes he wasn’t there. 

They begin training by following Suki’s lead. She tells them that being a Kyoshi Warrior is about using an opponent’s strength against them, regardless of size or power. 

“That’s why anyone can be a Kyoshi Warrior,” she says, looking at Aiko. “It’s about strategy.” 

They go through the motions again, and Aiko delights in knowing that she is much better at this than Sokka. Occasionally, she’ll slip into a firebending form, and Suki will correct her, confused. Throughout the whole session, her mind wanders to the Avatar who is no doubt a few miles away. Why does she insist on staying here? It's a weakness holding her here. 

After some time, they eventually take a break. Aiko is reluctant to socialize with Sokka, and hangs back as he and Suki talk. 

“What’s Aang up to?” Suki asks.

_ No. No, please. I don’t want to know. The second I know where he is, the thin veneer of plausible deniability keeping me here breaks apart. Why is this so hard for me? Only days ago, I was so desperate to capture the Avatar. Zuko would call me a coward. Azula would only laugh. And I can only imagine what Father would do.  _

“Hanging out with his fan club by the lake,” Sokka replies. 

Aiko’s face falls. She stands off to the side, frozen with indecision. But the same pull that brought her to Kyoshi Island urges her to confront the Avatar. Desperately, she reasons that the Kyoshi Warriors outnumber her in spades, and the last time she tried to fight the Avatar he thoroughly beat her. And this place is nearly paradise. To disrupt its peace would be truly awful.

But she has a duty to fulfil, and a father to please. Once the Avatar is in her hands, Zuko will like her, her father will love her, and she can finally rest. Victory is within arm’s reach, and she has no choice but to reach for it.

After a beat, Aiko steps forward. “How do you get there?” She asks, carefully neutral. 

“Why, you want to visit?” Sokka probed, turning to consider her for the second time. Suki narrows her eyes.

“Well, he’s a legend. I’d just like to meet the person who will someday save us all.”  _ Yeah, right. _

“You don’t seem like the fangirl type,” Suki says, clearly skeptical.

Aiko shrugs. “You’ve known me for, what, a day and a half? I just want to see what he’s like.” She hates how easy lying comes to her.

Suki concedes, and tells her how to get to the lake. Aiko starts to leave, before Suki catches her shoulder. “Before you go, just know that I had a lot of fun teaching you.” She smiles. “I hope you spend more time here, even if it is to do research on rare birds.” She snickers, and Aiko is starkly reminded that her comfort here is based entirely on deception. She feels… awful. 

Aiko leaves, knowing she’s about to turn Suki’s kindness and eventual trust against her.  _ The only person, other than Uncle, who has shown me any real friendship in the last two years, and this is what I do with it.  _ She feels slimy. Nevertheless, her mind was made, and she continued onto the lake. 

As she makes her way down there, she has time to reflect. She’ll fight the Avatar, this she knows. By capturing him, she holds onto a sliver of hope that her father might take her in again, that she could finally get away from the Earth Kingdom and all of its lawless civilians. If she brings the Avatar home, there’s a chance that she’ll feel safe again, that the nightmares will stop, and she’ll earn her father’s  love respect.

But on the other hand, recent feelings have been taking her by surprise. Like Suki, who was stupidly kind to her. She  _ liked _ Suki, thought she was pretty, and made a good warrior. She so rarely gets to be around girls her own age. Also, there’s the Avatar’s youth to deal with. The guilt she felt when she had him pinned to the ground still persists, nagging at her conscience with a voice suspiciously like her mother. She hates feeling so guilty. 

So she’s guilty if she does something, and guilty if she doesn’t.  _ Great. _

And then she reaches the lake. 

Still dressed in the Kyoshi armor and makeup, she knows the Avatar wouldn’t recognize her. Reaching the shore, she stands in shock at what she finds. 

Emerging from the lake is a giant sea serpent - the Unagi, she assumes. It’s spitting jets of water towards the shore, thrashing to and fro. This is most certainly  _ not _ what she expected to deal with when confronting the Avatar. The boy is nowhere to be seen.

And just when things couldn’t get even more complicated, she hears a very familiar blow horn. The Unagi retreats into the lake, and, out of the fog, the silhouette of her ship emerges. Zuko’s ship. Small, dented, and unmistakably Fire Nation.  _ What in the spirits is he doing here? _

Catching the Avatar, she supposes, and doing a better job than her. From her left, she hears a familiar voice whispering.  _ Why?  _ Why? _ Spirits, why do you make it so hard for me to do my duty?  _ Tentatively, she approaches who she knows to be the water tribe girl. A rock separates them, and she peeked over.  _ Oh Agni, that’s worse.  _ Lying prone next to the girl is the Avatar. How is she supposed to fight an unconscious boy? Where’s the honor in that?

The girl looks up to meet her, and squints, before deciding that yes, this was just another Kyoshi Warrior. Aiko almost wished she was recognized, because that would at least soothe the twisted feeling in her gut. Each lie she tells here will add up to something, she’s sure. 

“Do you know first aid?” The girl asks, beckoning Aiko over. 

_ Not unless I’m treating a burn, no.  _ “That depends on what happened to him,” Aiko responds, keeping her distance. 

If Azula were here, she would take advantage of the unconscious Avatar. Surely the water-tribe girl is no match in a fight, especially when trying to defend the boy. But still. Uncle would be so disappointed if she tried. 

“He nearly drowned - the Unagi got him. And now Zuko’s here…” Sure enough, Aiko could see their ship dock, and Zuko descend to shore atop a Komodo rhino, followed by several members of their crew.  _ Great, just what I need. That bull-headed idiot getting in the way. _

While Aiko focuses her brother in the distance, the water tribe girl seems to realize something behind her. Before Aiko knew it, the Avatar was coughing up water that Katara had bent out of his lungs. Huh.  _ Good to know, the girl’s a waterbender.  _ With the Avatar awake, there was no excuse not to fight anymore. 

Taking a deep breath, she steps forward. “Avatar Aang, I…”  _ am Princess Aiko of the Fire Nation, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa.  _ The boy looks at her weakly, having just recovered. She scrambles for something to say.  _ Surrender to the Fire Nation, or I will be forced to take you there against your will, as decreed by the Fire Lord. Once there, I will regain respect in the eyes of my father, and will feel loved by my great nation once more.  _

She takes off her gloves, and smears the makeup off her face. The waterbender and the Avatar recoil in recognition, before their faces set in determination as they scramble into fighting stances.

“My brother is here for you. So am I. Come peacefully, and no harm will come to Kyoshi Island.” Behind her, she can faintly hear Zuko demand the location of the Avatar revealed. 

The waterbender scowls. “Not a chance.” 

“Very well,” Aiko sighs. At least she could tell Uncle she tried. She settles into a fighting stance, resigned to the fight.

“Go get the villagers to safety,” the Avatar tells the girl, “I’ll deal with this.”

Briefly, Aiko considers her last battle with the Avatar. He was tied up for half the fight, and she still lost. However, Aiko’s firebending required a lot of room to be properly effective, considering the reach of her legs. Also, the Avatar was only trying to evade her then, while now he presumably wanted to fight. 

The girl runs away, presumably doing as the Avatar asked. It’s Aiko who delivers the first blow. She kicks a jet of fire, which he diffuses with ease, and steps back. At first, it’s easy for her to keep up a barrage of flame. It’s true that the open air makes it easier to maneuver, as she uses her legs to strike. She has the Avatar on the defensive, never getting the chance to hit her. For a moment, things are going well. She’s  _ winning.  _ Pushed into the village, she then sees what Zuko ( _ the Fire Nation _ ) has brought upon Kyoshi Island.

War. The exact thing Suki wanted away from, the one thing she’s tried to keep out of Kyoshi Island. And yet it’s laid bare, in all of the Fire Nation’s terrible glory, what they’ve brought to this place. Buildings alight, children fleeing out of the corner of her eyes, hiding in wooden ( _ wooden! _ ) homes.

As she pushes the Avatar through the streets, they both find themselves doing something strange. The boy is distracted, and makes no effort to strike back. Instead, every spare moment is spent trying to extinguish the flames. His success varies, sometimes fanning the flame and sometimes stealing its air.  _ Does that boy  _ ever  _ fight? _

Aiko, on the other hand, finds herself being quite careful with what she’s hitting. All attacks are at half-strength, so if they missed the Avatar (which they often did), they would dissipate before reaching a building behind him. If she happens to be near a fire, she takes precious seconds to extinguish it. It’s supposed to be much harder to get rid of fire than start it, but Aiko always finds her strength lies in control. As they move through the streets of Kyoshi - the Avatar being annoyingly evasive - they manage to get rid of all the fires in their wake. Small mercies. 

Additionally, Aiko’s relentless attack is exhausting. The firefighting efforts didn’t help matters, with her diverted energy making things more difficult. And, as always, the boy is so hard to  _ hit _ . She’s sure if he tried, he could knock the wind out of her, or airbend the breath from her lungs, or something equally awful and tactically advantageous. But then again, Aang couldn’t have been more than twelve. 

Eventually, Aiko is (yet again) panting like a dog trying to keep up with the boy. He starts to knock her back, and each of her fiery kicks are less impressive than the last. It’s all she can do to stay on her feet, to occasionally continue with her assault. At least, she notes with some small amount of pride, nothing around them is on fire. Whether that is a sign of remarkable control on her part or pathetic weakness remains to be seen. 

Just when she thinks she’s finally about to be beaten by the Avatar ( _ again! And by a child, no less)  _ Zuko appears by her side with a roar. Never before did she think she’d be so grateful to see that awful ponytail. And, Agni bless his spirit, he’s much more passionate about the fight than she is. 

He’s not worn down by exhaustion. He doesn’t care for this village, as it’s just a background to him. He isn’t as… conflicted as Aiko is about fighting the Avatar. Except that Aiko isn’t conflicted, she’s just confused. No, not confused - muddled. Zuko’s feelings on capturing the Avatar aren’t nearly as  _ muddled _ as Aiko’s. 

Together, they manage to push the Avatar back, stoking fear in his eyes. With each of Zuko’s blasts that misses, reaching the houses beyond, Aiko is there to diffuse them. For each of Aiko’s blasts that fails to be full power, Zuko supplements. He bends with his arms, and she bends with her feet. 

Then, right when the Avatar seems ready to stumble and fall, he spots something. A stick on the ground. No - not a stick, his staff. He races towards it, and by the time Aiko and Zuko realize what he’s doing, he’s flying away. Aiko trails his journey through the sky. He eventually finds that giant flying monster, and drifts away. Zuko levels one last attack in their direction, though it misses its target by a woeful margin. Aiko can only stare.

Finally, silence. Aiko considers the village. It’s in tatters, but all fires are reduced to embers, and the damage to the buildings could have been much worse. The siblings then consider each other. Aiko, in her Kyoshi dress and smudged war paint, fan still on her belt. Zuko, dressed in that fancy Fire Nation uniform he so loves. 

“Why are you wearing that?” Zuko asks.

Aiko shakes her head. “I’ll explain on the ship.” 

They march back through the village, to shore, though interrupted by a familiar figure. Suki, with two fans gripped tight. Her face was scuffed, and Aiko could see a sleeve was burned. 

Suki’s face briefly lightened seeing Aiko, before taking in the man standing next to her. She deepens into a fighting stance. 

Aiko’s heart drops. That twisted feeling in her gut is back, in full force. “Hey,” she manages to say, carefully level. Zuko pauses by her side.

“Let her go,” Suki says, steely voice directed at Zuko. The two siblings look at each other, and do nothing. Aiko is frozen. What could she possibly say to explain who she is so Suki? As it stands, it seems she didn’t need to say anything. Suki’s face darkens as she draws her own conclusions.

A suspicious outsider walking next to the head of the invading force, unbound. Standing next to each other, the family resemblance is hard to deny. 

Suki’s twists with rage. “You  _ lied  _ to me,” she snarled. “And I believed you! What an idiot I was, thinking that this girl with Fire Nation eyes and a Fire Nation name was anything other than  _ Fire Nation _ ,” she spits. “And, to top it all off, you showed up on the same day as the Avatar. Now, you  _ dare  _ to wear the uniform of a Kyoshi Warrior and you  _ dare  _ to walk in our village and pretend to be one of us.” Her grip on her fans tightened. “You disgust me.”

Aiko could have cried. Instead, her face twists into a scowl. Any attempt at speech, she knows, would reveal a cracked, blotchy voice.  _ It’s complicated,  _ she wants to say.  _ Please, stop yelling at me. _

Zuko eyes her, and Aiko bristles, not knowing what he’s thinking. Nothing good, she’s sure.

She only shrugs, and it’s not good enough. What she should be doing is kowtowing on the ground, begging for Suki’s forgiveness, so that she may never look upon Aiko with the same hatred again. A perfectly fine friendship ruined. Who was she kidding, though. It was never going to work out. 

Suki draws herself up, looking every bit the leader she was. “Leave. Now. And don’t ever return.” Her voice had an edge of steel to it, her gaze frigid. Aiko faintly wishes the girl would return to yelling.

After a moment, Aiko bows. Suki bristles, eyes narrowed. 

Then, Aiko takes her brother’s hand and they leave to their ship, her cheeks red with shame. He has the grace not to ask her what that was about. Her ship never seemed so imposing, docked on Kyoshi’s shore. Once aboard, she spares one last glance at the island. It was a fleeting chance at peace, she knows, and wishes she could just replay that quiet moment with Suki in her head, forever. Faces nearly touching, Suki carefully brushing her face with paint. Her smile as she teased Aiko’s cover story. That final goodbye that Suki didn’t know was a goodbye, where she said Aiko was a pleasure to teach. All gone.

Then their ship raised anchor, and she left Kyoshi Island for the first and last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! It means a lot.


End file.
